Everton: Pundit rages at Howard Webb after Dominic Calvert-Lewin denied Bournemouth penalty
Michael Ball was left fuming after Everton were denied a penalty in the defeat at Bournemouth for a challenge on Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
The former Toffees defender reacted to footage of the incident via Twitter on 30 March, very unhappy with the officiating from Sam Barrott, to remark sarcastically on what head of referees Howard Webb’s opinion might be.
Calvert-Lewin toiled up front on a frustrating day on the south coast but looked to have got the reward he deserved for his efforts when he chopped back inside early in the second half and looked to have been quite plainly caught by Tyler Adams, yet Barrott awarded nothing and VAR Michael Oliver wasn’t interested.
To compound the situation the Cherries soon went ahead through Dominic Solanke, and while Beto managed to haul his side level late on there was still time for Seamus Coleman to divert the winner into his own net in stoppage time.
In reaction to the video Ball wrote: “Add it to the list. But it’s ok, Howard Webb will say the officials are improving.”
Bad luck and bad decisions punish below-par Everton again
Few could argue that the Toffees were impressive on another miserable trip to Bournemouth, a ground where Frank Lampard’s reign also took some major blows.
But the home side weren’t great either so in a tight, low-quality affair the margins are slim and Everton weren’t helped by the bizarre decision not to award a penalty.
Adams’ swinging leg was hardly an assault but it was exactly the sort of contact, which was clear on replays, that is routinely punished in the Premier League.
Evertonians would expect that call to go against them if the roles were reversed, as it has done recently in very similar circumstances.
Sean Dyche was also unhappy about a potential foul on Jack Harrison in the build up to the Bournemouth opener [Sky Sports, 30 March], but while that could be much more easily argued to be a 50-50 coming together where the Everton man needed to be stronger, the penalty shout looked clear.
And when the Toffees are making more than enough problems for themselves they simply have to get those calls.
Calvert-Lewin has had a pretty miserable time of it in recent months, but largely isolated up front in a side that was again underperforming he engineered what could have been a crucial breakthrough and was given nothing, to leave Everton under increasing pressure once again.
In other Everton news, Josh Wander has insisted he can’t give answers on the takeover situation in a direct response to fans.
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